Mogul (Manhattan #2)(16)

“Bryn, thank God!”

“What? Why? What happened?”

“Nothing, but I can’t stay cooped up in here much longer. Can I meet you at Mrs. Ford’s?”

“Actually, that’s why I’m calling. I’m stuck in Central Park, and I desperately need you to change places with me. Since you’ve filled in for me with Mrs. Ford before, would you mind helping out again? I need to rush home to change for a date with Christos tonight.”

Damn, that Christos is moving fast.

I don’t know if I want to award the guy with a medal or get mad for stealing my roomie from me so many times.

Smiling to myself, I put the phone on speaker as I yank out a pair of jeans and a cropped white sweater. “I’ll take the train up there right now. Send me your location.” I quickly dress and comb my hair back before I give it a quick blow-dry. Then I grab my MetroCard and keys and head out.

Thank you, God. At least I won’t die from the anxiety yet. This will distract me for a while, at least until I find another audition that will lessen the blow if I’m denied.

I take the train to the Upper East Side, head west, and walk several blocks down the park until I spot Bryn sitting on a bench with Mrs. Ford. My favorite golden retriever, Milly, sits beside them as the two chat away. The widow seems to enjoy talking so much that sometimes I wonder if Bryn and I are the only people she interacts with. Today, she is wearing a flashy teal outfit and has her hair arranged in a fancy style, as if she is meeting someone important later.

My eyes lock on a third figure sitting with them. As I near, the man glances my way before quickly shifting his gaze. I continue to stare at him as I approach, and it doesn’t take long for his gaze to return to me. His large figure rises to full height as he stands to greet me, and I feel a bolt of electricity hit me in the chest as familiar eyes stare back at me.

He’s tall. Dark-haired. Gorgeous. With deep, thick-lashed eyes you want to sink into. And lips to suck on like they’re all that exists between you and heaven. I stop walking, stop breathing, because… he is here.

A moment passes and Bryn seems to notice my shock.

But shock doesn’t come close to it.

Because never in my whole life has my heart leapt so far and fast. It feels as if it’s ripping out of my chest. I can barely force my legs to move for fear of hearing my knees knock together. I struggle for air, but it feels like someone cut off my windpipe connecting my nose and lungs.

He wears a white dress shirt and black slacks, and his face is chiseled and brooding. The real shock lies in the intensity brewing in his dark eyes as they stay locked on mine. My heart speeds up as I hold his gaze. The city bustles around us. Making eye contact is not something I do often, living in a city of millions, but I can’t take my eyes off him.

The memory of having him inside me returns with a vengeance.

Bryn begins to introduce us. “Um. Ian, this is—”

“Sara. We’ve met,” Hot and Dirty Workaholic interrupts with a stiff smile.

Our eyes meet, and for a moment it feels like nothing else exists.

His name is Ian.

Fucking Ian, with his serious, handsome face and shiny, black hair. He’s as lit as I remember. Straight out of a Suits episode, and I am dying from the happiness of staring into his hot-as-fuck face.

Suddenly too nervous to be so obvious, I turn my attention back to Bryn, feeling like I’m going to vomit, my stomach is clutching so tight.

I feel a little light-headed and a lot self-conscious, and I would hate for him to notice, so I try my best to act otherwise. Confident, that’s me.

Except when I’m caught off guard by my sexy Workaholic.

I can tell by the expression of total shock in Bryn’s eyes that she’s just had a light-bulb moment. She knows I’ve just found my one-night-stand man. And she seems as shocked about who he turned out to be as I am. But she looks excited to get us talking, and to be honest, I’m just as happy to get this man to myself and shoo off Bryn to her Christos.

“Ian is Mrs. Ford’s grandson,” she explains to me. Then she tells Mrs. Ford, “Sara is going to take over so I can prepare for tonight. I’ll talk to you guys soon,” and I watch her leave.

So now what? What do I say? He’s Mrs. Ford’s grandson. I can’t just grab his dick and tell him how much I’ve dreamed about it. And him.

Milly barks and I realize Ian, too, is looking at me. With a thoughtful frown and a wicked, devious glimmer in his eyes.

Is he thinking of our evening in 1103 too?

“Here, give me that,” he gruffly tells Milly, and he grabs Milly’s toy and tosses it relatively close and tells her to fetch.

I become aware of Mrs. Ford looking at us in interest.

I give her a smile, hoping that it looks innocent, and quickly occupy myself with Milly.

“Do you two want to walk Milly around while I relax?” Mrs. Ford asks Ian and me. “You can get to know each other. Sara is one of my favorite girls, Ian, and Ian is my favorite grandson, Sara. There is no other man in the world for me.”

“I’m your only grandson, Gran. And I’d love to get to know Sara more intimately.”

He winks at her, looking charming and much more of a good guy than the guy I fucked in room 1103. Mrs. Ford chuckles and pulls out a book, as if that is that. As if the word intimately didn’t mean a whole other thing to me than it probably does to Mrs. Ford.